A Low-Key Christmas, Shrimp and an uninvited "guest"

Hello everyone. Has the wrapping paper cleared? 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas filled with family and joy. Our Christmas was very low-key and I LOVED it.

After a two-day visit with my husband's family we came home Christmas Eve morning. But not before my Mama called to tell me that we would be celebrating at her house a day late.

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Works for Me Wednesday: DIY premade cookie dough

 

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Is there anything easier than ready made cookie dough? You just slice it up and plop it on the pan. But if your a big fan of making your own cookies from scratch, as am I, that might not be your thing. 

But you can have the best of both worlds. Double batch it! I just use this recipe and mix up twice the dough. Then I take half of it, place it in a freezer bag, roll it in to a loaf and stick it the freezer. Then if I have company I can just take it out of the freezer, slice it up and bake it. No need to thaw!


Peel your own tomatoes! Way better than a can.

Is there anything more gross than a winter tomato? Well, sure, but let's not get in to all that.

We have been trying to eat fewer things from a tin can, and more things grown closer to home. I hope to grow and can my own produce soon, but until then I have fallen in love with my farmers market. The only problem is... tomaotes. No matter how great your local veggie stand is, winter tomatoes are awful.

However, Roma tomatoes remain their wonderful, glorious self.

Here is a quick Tuesday tip on how to peel tomaotes for making sauce (recipe to follow later this week).

What you'll need:

Tomatoes

Boiling water

Ice water

Set some water to boil. After it has come to a rolling boil, drop in your tomatoes (CAREFUL!). Let them boil about a minute until the skin begins to split like so:

 

Then place them immediatly in the ice water for another minute. Remove from icewater and peal. The skin will slide right off and you will have a beautiful tomato.